Eagles quarterback Nick Foles appears on regional cover of Sports Illustrated

Nick Foles and the Eagles weathered the snow Sunday, defeating the Lions 34-20 to move to 8-5. (Al Tielemans/SI) From backup quarterback to Sports Illustrated

Nick Foles and the Eagles weathered the snow Sunday, defeating the Lions 34-20 to move to 8-5. (Al Tielemans/SI)

From backup quarterback to Sports Illustrated cover boy. It's been quite a journey for the Eagles' Nick Foles this season.

Senior writer Michael Bamberger details Foles' path to stardom, noting how quick Philadelphia has been to embrace the second-year QB.

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"This whole season could easily have gone another way, and the city’s mood with it. More than the cracked bell, the Phillies, Rocky and all the rest, the football team is the thing that binds Philadelphia," Bamberger writes. "This latest potential franchise quarterback, with his blond hair and XXL hands and earnest manner, is doing more for the city than he could possibly know."

Foles began the season behind Michael Vick, a man who many thought would revitalize his career under first-year coach Chip Kelly. But Vick has taken his benching in stride, acting as Foles' biggest supporter.

"Foles and Vick share basketball [Vick can dunk from a standing position], but in other ways -- in background, height, style, manner -- the two are about as different as two NFL quarterbacks can be," Bamberger writes. "None of that has mattered. They’ve been on the same page all year long. They’ve huddled during games, compared notes at team meetings, talked at length in the locker room. It’s been remarkable."

A third-round pick in 2012, Foles has gone 135-of-218 for 1,970 yards with 20 touchdowns and just one interception this season. The Eagles sit first in the NFC East at 8-5 and face the Vikings in Week 15.

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